Thank youThis lady had a characteristic posture. I noticed her from a distance of about 100m. She was going to the store so I moved fast. As I was approaching her I noticed store signs in the background. I knew that was the moment to take the photo. I used a 50 mm lens.

"Try avoiding the grocery store and see how quickly your fridge gets empty"

. . . unless you try a Square Foot Garden, perhaps. Saying that a store is the only way to provide food for yourself is laughably ignorant. We don't magically lose the ability to grow when society as a whole decides that it's more convenient to put more money down in the long run using stores. In fact, with the advent of the internet (available to most anyone with a library card, or you could use books) it's gotten tons easier to find support and straightforward instructions. Raising your own chickens is fairly simple, too. Now, if only there wasn't a stigma against it, we wouldn't have to be worrying about factory farm produced eggs, now would we?

Funny that we prize raising animals that ultimately don't "produce" anything for us, yet stick up our noses at anything that resembles agriculture. First world pride, I suppose.

That's a nice dream, but you have to remember that not every area has the proper climate to grow vegetable gardens. Can't plant where it's constantly ice! I guess you must either live someplace warm, or someplace where you can experience all the seasons. Plus, if someone can't afford groceries, it's very unlikely they can afford live chickens to raise. Remember, it requires a lot of electricity to run heating lamps, which is what you'll need if you're raising livestock in cold climate. Not to mention a facility to house them in. Most people can't even afford a home. Where are they going to stuff all this livestock?! Under the bed?!

Btw - you live in the first world. Your self-righteous attitude is staggering.

Oh yes, someone who has named himself Doctor Genius is here to put me in my place. 9_9 There are hardy cold weather crops. The photographer is from Canada, and yes it's cold there, but that doesn't stop them from churning out plenty of produce. And last I checked, Canada was first world. And as I pointed out, the assumption that all food must come from the store is an extremely first world attitude. So, I'm talking about the first world!

Plants will grow indoors. If you're keeping your living space at least comfortable, there are plants that will find it comfortable too.

The upfront cost of raising chickens is a red herring, as the upkeep is not that bad. With medical bills bankrupting people, I think eating healthy and cheaply is important, and I'm just pointing out a way to do it. I don't think three or four little chickens need to be stuffed under your bed. Urban chicken raising is on the uptick. Calling them "livestock" is certainly a tactic that makes it sound daunting, but really they'd be more pets than anything if you're raising them for eggs.

Canada? You do know that the world is made up of many different countries OTHER THAN Canada? There are a 196 counties out there! You cannot just fixate on one because they are ALL different! You cannot assume they all share the same climate and resources. Maybe you are too sheltered to understand that.

Like I said, plants will grow indoors, but you do need the money, the electricity, the time, the space, the means, and the heat lamps. I guess you didn’t bother to read my post. Not everyone is as “privileged” as you. That stuff costs money. Like I said, if you are too poor to buy groceries, you are too poor to build a garden by yourself and raise livestock. Perhaps you don't know that because you still depend on your parents to buy you things.

I would rather pay for my own medical bills, then vet bills for a chicken. What used is there in raising livestock if I’m dead? Who will raise this livestock… if I’m dead? How will they keep them alive with no money!!!! Chicken need food!!!

And yes, I’ve raised chickens. It’s not as cheap as you imply it is. If someone has zero dollars, where are they going to get a chick from? Where are these free chicks handed out??? I want free stuff!!! I guess I'm old enough to know that not all things in life are free.

There is SO MUCH you haven’t considered. They are literally called "livestock." That won't change how expensive they are. The facts are there.

And for some reason, you want a personal attack on a user name. How does "MenollySagittaria" make you better than anyone on dA? It's just a username. Call it a wild guess, but I know it's not your birthname!!! And why does an American think they know more than a Canadian about Canada? You don't even address ice. You mention nothing about climate and resources, which was the original argument.

You accuse me of erasure, and yet HIS comment is the one that ignores other worlds' experiences!! (i.e., not the arrangement of the first world)

Look up Square Foot Gardening. it is easy, requires very little time input or space. There ARE easy and cheap ways to garden, (and did indoor not cover climate?) it's not just a hobby for those with time to kick up their feet, it's utilitarian, and your obstructionist stance does little to help people. Some seeds cost cents on the dollar, and compost is free. There's some start up money involved, but investing money to pay less later is NOT more money spent on the whole. Chickens are probably for people a little higher on the economic totem pole (but not a whole lot). Low income families do have pets sometimes, so why not make it a pet that can benefit your physical needs as well as your mind (they have personality just like the next animal). If you check regulations you can sell your excess to your neighbors. Plus, the eggs are higher quality fresh than in store. They're a nutrient dense food that will help you be energized, and get sick less often.

I'm sorry for the ad hominem about the name, but it really does impact my ability to take you seriously.

Yeah, I know what Square Foot Gardening is. You have to understand that your experiences are different from other people. Not everyone in the world is the same. People won’t have the same resources and conditions as you. Like I mentioned before, climate and money are large issues. Even medical issues are a concern. Do you expect someone who is fragile and cripple to bend over and put down planks to create a Square Foot Garden? To weed? To harvest? Look at the elderly woman in the photo. Do you see her? You shouldn’t demand that she grows her own crops. You shouldn’t shame her for trying to fill her fridge with groceries so she could, you know, LIVE!

I get that you live in a place with optimal planting environment, but every place is different. Plants need an environment they can survive in. Harsh weather won’t allow that. Like I said, most people don’t even own their own home. Where are they going to get the money to buy the extra land to grow anything? Not everyone has a backyard, or even a front yard. Raising livestock and growing crops is not a feasible solution for all the problems in the world. Life’s not that simple. Sadly, most people can barely survive on their paychecks. Selling an extra chicken egg to your neighbor won’t help with taxes and bills. It certainly won’t help when you get painful arthritis and can’t bend your fingers. You’re just going to have to accept that there will be people who cannot grow their own crops. You might as well tell people to raise bees if they want a teaspoon of honey in their tea. In which case, they would also need to grow their own tea leaves.

Doctor Genius is actually the name of an evil villain. You’re obviously not a fan of the series, but it definitely looks silly to someone who isn’t familiar with it. Looks quite obnoxious, too.

You don't know what that woman's situation is, so why do you assume? She's just a random person the photographer happened to see.

My 80+ year old grandmother takes care of a *traditional* garden. The SFG can be at tabletop height. Practically zero weeds, and no kneeling. *snip* oh wow, that was hard to harvest. Older people have mailed in to say that it finally made it easy enough to garden for them.

I was specifically addressing the comment in the Artist's section,about, you know, being wholly dependent on a store. Why you try to twist that into something else I do not know.

"buy the extra land to grow anything" Okay, this in itself proves to me that you don't know anything about SFG, despite claiming to.

It has been implemented in other countries, obviously where the plants like the climate. No one ever suggested trying to grow corn in permafrost or anything.

The comparison to beekeeping is idiotic. You need specialized gear, a good bit of training, and honey is not a staple (though hey, since inexplicable bee colony collapse is mounting, it'd be nice if people who did have the time raised bees, or could get government subsidies for it the way cheap sugar and meat does) and neither is tea. NOW you're talking about luxury, not food. though I suspect you could grow tea in an SFG, too.

You don't know what the woman's situation is either, yet you still continue to be an uneducated dolt. At least I know it is still too much to ask a cripple person to harvest their own crop. To build a garden. To care for livestock by themselves...

Who cares about your 80+ year old grandmother. Does she represent EVERYONE in the world? No. How ignorant and selfish of you. Like I said, you think selfishly. Not everyone has your experiences. You keep giving your own experiences as an example. That doesn't work! Not everyone is you!!!! The world is HUGE!!!! We are all different. Don't shame someone from being different from you. That's very closed-minded.

Wow. You are so uneducated. You will literally ignored ALL rational ideas presented to you. You don't even understand the concept of "different conditions." What a princess...

I don't even know what to say. You will continue to argue no matter how idiotic you sound. Go on. Please continue. Every single time you type you show how moronic and hypocritical you are. Just dig yourself in deeper.

dont know. nothing really special about it. the photo lives mainly from the background and the red jacket. quite normal shot if u ask me. also not sure what the "deep" text about the food is? not worth a dd.

This is hardly taking advantage of anyone. I've seen more tactless homeless "photos" from photographers here in the US than this image of an elderly woman of a nondescript status. In fact she might not be miserable at all. Perhaps she is in deep thought. We don't know. We aren't her. This is documenting human life. And honestly? What should we do? Turn a blind eye to elderly individuals? Pretend they don't exist? Perhaps it would be better to study all that is around us the good, bad, and undecided.